The Oyo State Government has rolled out the COVID-19 vaccination exercise on Wednesday in Ibadan, the state capital.
Speaking after receiving a jab of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the state governor, Seyi Makinde said that the state had made decision on a sterility test of the vaccine as precautionary measure to ascertain its safety and efficacy.
“I have very low tolerance for physical pain, but when duty calls you have to do what you have to do.
“I am getting vaccinated today as a show of leadership and to let the people know that they have to be protected.
“I ordered for sterility tests because when I asked questions about the origin of the vaccine, I was informed that the batch that came to the country came from India.
“It is not that I don’t like India or I don’t believe in their products, but I was worried about the storage and I wanted to validate that the vaccines that we will give to the people of Oyo State have been correctly handled.
“The tests were carried out at our two laboratories, the virology and bio-repository laboratories.
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“They both came with the same results that the vaccine is good and safe for the consumption of people of Oyo State.
“After the outcome of the tests, it did not take me 24 hours to agree to roll out the vaccines in the state.
“I appreciate the health family, you have risen to the occasion and thanks for your dedication, COVID -19 has been better handled in Oyo State than most states in Nigeria.
“We will continue to set the pace in Oyo State.
“We want to also let our people know that the process is open, simple and you don’t have to bribe anyone to get vaccinated,” Makinde said.
